Six days into the 30-day campaign, the solicitation has taken on a life of its own, yielding an
unlikely $35,000 (and counting) from more than 3,000 backers worldwide (and counting), as of 5:00
a.m. today.

“I thought, if we made $60, that would be our stretch goal,” Brown said. “I was worried I would
have to make $60 worth of potato salad.”

Now he’s cooking up much more.

As word of Brown’s efforts spread virally yesterday, a range of news organizations picked up the
story.

Reports from the Huffington Post,
The Times of London and
Food & Wine magazine were among more than 160 listed in a Google search.

Hundreds of tweets yesterday centered on the potato-salad effort, and Reddit users, too, were
abuzz over the phenomenon.

All the attention paid to the effort has left Brown with minimal sleep during the past 48 hours,
and the co-owner of a software company headed last night to New York for an appearance today on
Good Morning America.

The potato-salad campaign — begun on Thursday — originated in a discussion about Fourth of July
plans during a Google chat early last week. Brown and a half-dozen friends started talking about
their favorite backyard-barbecue side dishes.

“I thought, ‘I’ve eaten potato salad, but I’ve never made it before,’ ” the 31-year-old said
with tongue in cheek.

“The thing that drew me to crowd funding is what draws a lot of people: I am risk-averse, and I
needed a kick. I needed to be supported in my venture.”

In conjunction with his bid to make his first potato salad, Brown wanted to have some fun with
friends — and, possibly, others who love the dish.

“It’s a way for people to unite online,” he said. “It’s not controversial. It’s not snarky. It’s
not mean. I think that everybody is having a really good time with it.”

Most of the donations on the first day — about $200 in all — came from friends wanting to humor
Brown. (Brown promised a “bite” of salad to anyone who donated $3 or more.)

The campaign reached $1,000 on the Fourth of July, he said, as he listened to Lee Greenwood’s
God Bless the USA while watching fireworks.

“There are a lot of $1- and $2-level donors,” he said. “People just want to say, ‘I was there,’
and to be part of a community.”

Then came a story posted Saturday on the website BuzzFeed, and the campaign really got
rolling.

Rob Thomas, who as the creator of
Veronica Mars is famous for his own notable Kickstarter campaign, chipped in to see what
Brown might whip up. So did comic actor Orlando Jones.

Businesses, too, joined in, with the Columbus retailer Homage offering yesterday to contribute “
I Just Backed Potato Salad” T-shirts for those who give $35 or more.

Later yesterday, Hellmann’s offered to donate all the mayonnaise that Brown needs for his potato
salad.

With his effort No. 1 among thousands of Kickstarter projects, he has had to up the ante for
contributors.

He now has plans to host a potato-salad party (the whole Internet is invited) and is shopping
around for tasty recipes. Multiple varieties — from the traditional mayonnaise-based to vinegary
German-style and even a vegan option — will be assembled. A professional video crew will be hired
to film the salad-making.

Brown has also offered haikus and photos of him at work in the kitchen, and promised to recite
all backers’ names while making his salad.

Powell resident Keith Baker donated $10 on Thursday after a friend of a friend posted something
about Brown’s effort on Facebook.

“I thought, ‘Why not?’ ” said Baker, 32. “It’s kind of a goofy gamble. It’s just crazy to see
how big it’s getting.”

He upped his donation to $35 yesterday after he learned of Homage’s involvement.

Ryan Vesler, owner of Homage, said he is lending his support because of the social-media frenzy
surrounding the effort.

“It pokes fun at Kickstarter,” Vesler said, “and people want to support other people being
funny.”

Even Kickstarter approves of the project. Plus, as the site notes: “Backers decide what’s worth
funding and what’s not.” (The site doesn’t offer refunds.)

Brown said he is still unsure what all he’ll be able to do with the money. He and a team of
friends and volunteers are still brainstorming.

As of now, he expects to throw a very large party (tentatively scheduled for Labor Day weekend)
to reward his backers — and, of course, make potato salad by the ton.

“We will not disappoint the Internet,” he said. “It’s what has allowed us to have this moment,
what is sacred to us. We love to connect with people.”